Former President Schuster to Go to Strasbourg to Pay Tribute to Kohl

Bratislava, June 29 (TASR) – Former Slovak president Rudolf Schuster is due to attend a European memorial event in honour of late former German chancellor Helmut Kohl at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Saturday, TASR learnt on Thursday.

“I was asked by the prime minister [Robert Fico], who said that he can’t go, whether I perhaps could. I willingly agreed, as I deeply valued Helmut Kohl. He was a person who had great merit not only in terms of the reunification of Germany, but also in [the creation of] a new Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain. He was a politician of global importance and was irreplaceable especially for Europe,” Schuster told TASR.

The former Slovak president recalled that he once met Kohl and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Passau, Germany. According to Schuster, Kohl was very much trusted by Gorbachev, a fact that significantly contributed towards the reunification of Germany.

“The reunification wouldn’t have taken place so quickly without good cooperation between Kohl and Gorbachev,” said Schuster.

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The News Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR) is a public service, national and independent institution that provides information in the area of news coverage in accordance with the public interest. It was set up via Act No. 358/2008 on the News Agency of the Slovak Republic.